Recovery
by Pokydog49
Summary: Everyone is recovering from UC2. Its main focus is Elena, however, it's going to have everyone. It's going to be a bit dark, be prepared, but it will have lighter stuff and fluff in it. It's rated M for sexual content and dark thoughts.
1. Chapter 1

Recovery

Chapter 1

There was a musky scent of incense. She'd smelled it before, had actually become fond of it, but she couldn't decipher where it originated it from. She felt suspended, bodiless, everywhere, yet contained. She couldn't define any of her surroundings, but she could sense them. There was that familiar incense smell. The air felt dense, smoky, closed, and dark. She could hear people coming in and out. One voice was most common. It soothed her, talked to her, though she could not respond. She wished the most that she could wake when she heard his steps, heard his tone, and felt his touch. His touch. In her complete absence of form, she melted under his touch. She felt light, weightless, and free.

When her eyes did open, she was alone. Where she was before there was no pain, but as her eyes opened as she moved, her whole body screamed. Her voice however was lost and she just gasped as she stopped immediately to reassess her current situation. The room was lighter than she expected. There was a cool breeze blowing through the open window and some pretty wool curtains waved gently. The incense that she had familiarized with burned slowly nearby. At least there was that familiarity between the two worlds. She tried again to sit up but more sharp pain caused her to collapse back into the bed. She felt the blankets, heavier in weight, some kind of wool. She looked around and took in a slow breath. She wished she wasn't alone. She wished for a voice, a touch, that she knew so well… but he was not there.

The next time she woke, there was a young girl. She didn't say anything, just watched as the girl color on a piece of paper. She didn't recognize the girl right away, but her brain ticked, trying feverishly to remember her. The girl, short with black hair pulled back into a braid, wearing a colorful dress, didn't seem to notice her gaze, so she didn't call out to her. Then something snapped and she opened her mouth as she recognized the girl. She had given the girl those crayons! But still, she didn't say anything. She just smiled as she watched the girl hum and color.

Then a man walked in. He was taller, darker dressed, but had a soft welcoming face though his dark features. He raised his arms as he said something that she didn't catch and walked quickly over to her. This whole time, Elena was unaware of her clothing. It didn't dawn on her that she wasn't really wearing anything. She felt bandages around her, but she felt suddenly self-conscious. Tenzin tried to encourage her to sit up, but Elena waved him off and declined. He then handed her some tea, which was strong to taste, but felt good on her empty stomach. She could understand him, for the most part. He told her that she'd been mostly asleep for just under four days, and that she needed to drink the tea. He told her that he'd being her some food, and that he needed to change her bandages. As he left, possibly to get supplies, she looked around the room for something to wear.

"You are awake."

There was that familiar voice, that soothing tone that had calmed her while she was suspended. Elena looked up to see Nathan walk in.

"Tenzin said you were awake."

Elena nodded.

"How are you feeling?"

Elena looked at him for a minute before responding. He was the one solid thing in her life that she was completely comfortable with. His brown hair was mostly a mess, but he was clean shaven. His clothes were dirty and had some kind of hair on it. His blue eyes were full of concern, but his touch was caring and gentle. He smiled, but she knew he felt just as uncomfortable as she was, probably scared too. All the past weeks' memories flooded her. She fell back as she felt greatly overwhelmed. "I think I'm alive," she responded as she stared at the ceiling.

Nate, in his casual ways, nodded. "You sure are."

She then tried to sit up more, holding the blankets close to her body. Her wounds caused her to groan but as she settled into a sitting position, she sighed as the pain slowly decreased. Nate reached out in a short panic to assist her but Elena raised her hand to stop him. "I got it," she whispered. "But you can find me some clothes…"

Nathan chuckled. "We have been changing your bandages twice a day for a while, it was easier to leave you bare." He sat down on a stool next to her and leaned in to speak with her. "We didn't do anything to you. We were trying to help."

She nodded, knowing that it was the truth.

"I will find you something to wear," he said and he patted her thigh. "Are you feeling better?"

Elena nodded and looked back up at him. "Yeah… just starting to remember…"

He bit his lip. There was too much to go over, and he didn't want to overwhelm her. He stood up and as he moved to the door, Tenzin came back in with clean cloths. He waved it at Nate, handing it to him, before turning and heading back out, the little girl following him this time. He turned slowly, smiled nervously, and lifted the bandages to show Elena. "You know," he smirked as he sat back down in the stool. "In the couple days you have been out, I've learned a little."

"Oh," Elena coughed out a laugh as she watched his facial characteristics. He was searching for her approval, unsure of how to proceed. She, honestly, was too, but she wasn't going to make it more nerve wrecking than it had to be.

"Yeah," he scratched his cheek. "I think he said he was going to find your clothes…"

Elena giggled. She didn't hear everything Tenzin had said, but she did hear clothes.

"I'm, uhm… I'm going to change your bandages…" Nate lifted the bandages again. "It's going to be easier now that you are awake…"

She wanted to argue with him. She wanted to take the bandages and do it herself, but the pain was sharp and unforgiving. She only nodded and sighed. She lowered the blanket as Nathan grabbed some salve from a shelf. She didn't dare look down at herself. She instead watched Nate's reaction her to skin and wounds. He didn't grimace or frown, that was a good start. He instead motioned for her to lift her arms as he began to unwrap her. She could see the rusty red stains on the cloth. Old blood. She looked up, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Oh God," she whined.

"Sorry," Nate growled at himself. "I'm not trying to hurt you."

She giggled as a response. "No. My hair…"

Nate stopped to look at her hair. He hadn't noticed.

"It's greasy and all messed up."

Nate smiled. "I think it's nice."

"You're such an ass."

He went back to pulling another bandage off. It was tender, she would admit. But it wasn't as bad as she thought.

"Is it possible that I can bathe before you re-wrap me?"

Nate stopped and thought for a second. "Yeah," he nodded. "I think so."

She felt his fingers pull the bandage from her breasts, exposing her chest to him. But he didn't flinch or gaze too long. Maybe they weren't as pretty as they were before. He used to just stare at them before…. He stood up, motioning for her to cover up. He helped wrap a blanket around her and leaned over, slipping his arms under her, picking her up in his arms. This was a new experience for Elena. She was not the type of woman to be coddled and held like this. But for her first time since awaking to see Nathan Drake, Elena let her breath get taken away.

He took her outside. The air was crisp, but refreshing. The bath was not far. It was a round tub, with a wood fire under it. They saw Tenzin and Nate tried to tell him "bath." Elena corrected him and Tenzin immediately showed him to the house. Nate sat by the tub with her as Tenzin started a fire to warm the water. He continued to pull the bandages off, one by one, till she was bare. She wasn't actually embarrassed since her and Nathan had relations before. But the sensation of the bandages coming off were sensual and refreshing. Nate was soft about it. He took the task more grown up and mature than she had expected from him.

Once in the bath, however, he took a turn, leaning against the wooded edging and smirked. "So… Do you need help in there too?"

Elena laughed out loud though that hurt. "No," she rolled her eyes. "I just want to soak and wash. Come back and get me in thirty minutes."

Nate laughed and nodded.

But Elena needed her time alone to analyze her situation. There was a lot to take in. It was fine while she was in the suspension of white. There was little to think about. She just existed. She had memories, but they were not forceful or important. These memories seemed to lash out at her, demand attention and decoding. There was a memory of this place… Shambala… an old man… Schafer… and an explosion. She closed her eyes as she could see the oversized men dressed as apes scream and run after them. She felt the heat on her skin, the shrapnel pierce her skin in a hot rip, burning as it lodged itself into her. Her hands slid down her body as she felt the scars. How was she supposed to deal with that? Then a face appeared. Jeff. _Dear God_ , she thought as she felt a tear run down her face. _Jeff._

She allowed herself to slip under the water. Her hands grabbed at her hair, tangled and oily, and ran her fingers through them as she surfaced again. She felt nasty, yucky, and dirty. The water wasn't warm enough, but it wasn't cold, so she didn't complain. There was some kind of soap on a shelf and she used it on her hair, lathering it over and over again. In her head, she kept seeing his face, smiling and laughing with her. _Jeff_. She took the bar of soap and washed her arms, but the movement for her hair was already too painful, so she stopped. Despite her best efforts to wash and feel better, feeling her scarred body, and her scarred mind, she felt weak and broken. She wanted to cry, but that too hurt. Everything had its own painful stab. She dropped beneath the surface again rinsing her hair. She heard his voice. She could see them, sitting in a hotel in Pakistan, going over evidence. He was happy-go-lucky, with the same go get them attitude. As she surfaced for air, she breathed in too deep causing her to hiss in pain. At least he wasn't in pain… not anymore.

The bath took more energy out of her than she expected. Nate helped her out, and in the same careful fashion, wrapped clean bandages over the necessary scars. Thanks to the bath and her trying to walk on her own, she reopened a wound and Nate was quick to lecture her on taking it easy as he, again, carried her to her bed. They found a nightgown, something baggy but more than nothing on her. She painfully crawled into bed, sipping some strong tea. Her body felt heavy, cold, and achy. She curled up the best she could in her blankets, and although she tried her best to drink some broth, she found herself nodding off instead of drinking. Tenzin and his daughter were playing a simple game. Chloe and Nate were standing by the door talking and watching the game. However, she noticed that Nate keep looking at her, and not at Chloe. He kept sneaking peaks at her with a soft smile, as if he wished it was her next to him. But Elena was dozing fast. She wanted to stay awake and be part of the group, but her body was objecting hard. As her eyes finally shut without motivation to open again till tomorrow, she drifted back into sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Recovery

Chapter 2

After Sullivan had heard what happened, he made his way quickly to them. Actually, he was there to pay for their way off the mountain. Nathan was broke, Sully knew that, and Elena was recovering from her experience. Nate met him at the train drop off point and hiked up with him. It was early morning, and they stopped, mostly due to Sully's need for a cigar and/or a breath, and sat down on some rocks to watch the sunrise.

Sully studied Nate as they sat there. It was quiet, silent even. Nate seemed to have a long-lost look on his face as if he was in deep thought. He looked good though, happy to an extent. His hair was clean, he had shaved, and his clothes were cleaner than Sullivan had expected. He was well rested, with no dark bags under the eyes, and no slouch in his posture. But Nathan's eye betrayed him. He had something on his mind.

"How's Elena doing?" Sullivan had to ask. He was sure that was what Nate was thinking about. And knowing Nate, he knew the guy was going to worry over her. He was going to blame himself for the whole event, and so, making it his responsibility to heal her to rid himself of his own guilt.

Nate turned and smiled, his eyes brightened at the recalling of Elena. "She's doing much better than we all thought." He chuckled and turned back to the sunrise. "She's getting antsy. She wants to go home."

Sully laughed. "I'm sure!" He drew from his cigar and rubbed his mustache with the other hand. "Is she well enough to move?"

Nate nodded. "She's getting there. Probably more than she should…" He looked down at his hands. There was that guilt that Sully knew of.

He coughed, sat up straighter, and drew from his cigar again, blowing out a dense puff into the breeze. "She has a long road ahead of her. She'll be feeling if for months." He peered from the corner of his eyes to see Nate hadn't moved. "Do you remember Roger? Roger Dill?"

Nate looked up, feeling the sun's warmth on his face. "Yeah, Roger. He's the one that we met in Poland a couple years back?"

Sullivan nodded. "Believe it or not, but we were really good friends to begin with. We met when I was working for Marlowe. She'd hired him as an explosives specialist." Sully burst into laughter as he waved the cigar between his fingers at the mountains. "Now that's a guy who's been blown up a few times."

Nate raised an eyebrow. "A few times?"

Sully nodded with another puff of smoke. "He was a guy I could really rely on. If something needed to be kept secret and done correctly, I could call him. There was one time you and…. "Sully coughed as he looked at Nate sympathetically, "Sam… went off…" His voice trailed as he saw Nate's body drop and he sighed. "Anyway, I called Roger to help me get through a minefield."

Nate nodded and rubbed his face.

"I figured that a guy who specialized in explosives could help me get through some jungle with a few mines…" Sully shook his head and looked seriously at Nate. "When that bomb went off, my heart stopped. There was my friend, a good friend, in a bloody pile of flesh and shrapnel."

Nate looked up, raising his eyebrows. "He doesn't look like he'd been blown up."

"Here's, the thing kid, the bomb tore through his artery." Sully pointed at his leg with his two fingers holding the cigar. "Tore right through his right side."

"That's why he limped so badly…"

Sully nodded and rubbed his mustache. "I felt awful for a long time." They sat quietly, Nathan hearing Sully smoke his cigar. He kicked a rock and they watched it tumble down the hill, catching speed as it went. "I had a hard time taking you to those kinds of places because I didn't want to see you dead."

"How did he not die?"

"Oh, we were both old military hounds. We applied a tourniquet and I dragged him to the car and rushed him the hospital. It took him over a year before he could walk again." Sully softly hit Nate on the shoulder with a grin. "And up until Poland, he was always there for me." Sully stood up, putting out his cigar. "Point is, Nathan, is that Elena will be fine. She's not going to blame you for the rest of her life for this. She's probably going to love you more for it. She will respect you for being there for her."

Nate stood up, brushing some dirt off his pants. "As long as I don't take her to Poland?"

There was that sarcasm. Sully laughed, though he knew it was there to hide Nathan's fears. "Just don't take her to Poland," he repeated. He looked up the hill. "How much farther do we have to climb here?"

Nate patted his friend on the back. "Come-on, it's up around this bend."

"Heard that too many times before."

Nate showed Sullivan where Elena was and said he had to go find Chloe before running off. It didn't mind Sully. The kid was dealing with the things the way he did best. He hadn't planned on staying in the village long. He had other business to conduct. But he wanted to evaluate Elena's condition to see if they could get her home sooner. He walked through the doorway to see Elena sitting in her bed, fully dressed.

"Hey you," he greeted quietly.

Elena looked up and smiled excitedly. "Sully!"

"Hey," he chuckled. "How are you feeling?"

"Pent up," she quickly admitted. "I was going to go for a stretch, walk around for a little."

"You sure you will be okay?" Sully sat next to her. He looked her over, noticing how she was holding herself, her posture, her tone, and her eyes. She looked delicate and fragile, but enthusiastic and ready.

Elena nodded. "Don't you let Nate tell you otherwise. He insists on me staying in bed. If I stay there any longer, I'm afraid I will forget how to walk!"

Sully laughed. "We can't have the beautiful Elena Fisher not walking!"

Elena tried to laugh with him but ended up coughing and groaning, holding her ribs. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and it hurt Sully to see her like this. He knew she was in pain. He knew she was also feeling pent up. As she stopped coughing, she smiled weakly back at Sullivan. "I'm okay," she whimpered.

He sighed. He patted her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "You look amazing as always," he reassured her.

Elena rolled her eyes and waved him off. "You don't have to suck up to me, Sully. I already like you."

He chuckled again and held out his hand. "If you are going to go for a walk, at least let me walk with you."

Elena nodded as she pulled herself to stand. She groaned, sighed, and reached for his arm. "So, what brought her to the beautiful Himalayas?"

He patted her hand on his arm. "Sometimes even the brave Nathan Drake needs saving…"

She only giggled as a response and allowed him to lead her to the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Recovery

Chapter 3

She knew she had lost him when they ran into Elena Fisher in that village, by pure coincidence. But she doubted herself. She knew he loved her, but, that was one of Nathan's greatest faults: he loved easily. She loved him too. She knew that moment when they met, her grasp on him was faltering, but she tried to ignore her own intuition. Her love for him was truer than anyone else she had been with at the time. As Nathan was, she enjoyed his antics and his sarcasm. And while it lasted, before Elena Fisher, it seemed he loved her too. They had had a relationship before. It was more impromptu, but she loved his passion. Then, she came back into his life, and Chloe knew she'd lost him again.

Chloe stood in some spring grass, a gentle breeze playing with her hair, and the tall Himalayans towered over her. She leaned against a rock wall as she thought back, trying to figure out where she went wrong, and how this all happened. She scoffed as she thought about. It was karma if she ever admitted it. She left him the first time. But this time, she felt they held the most chance.

She frowned as she thought about him trying to save Jeff. Then her being hauled off. She was so angry for several reasons. She did think for a moment that he was gone, that Lazarevic had killed him. But it was a greater disappointment in Nathan. She felt betrayed. He had clearly chosen to dance with someone else, even though she was the one who had gotten him that far. It hurt. And while on that train, trapped with Flynn, she fumed. She swore to never rely on a man again. She didn't need anyone else. After all, she trusted Nathan above anyone else.

She looked down at her hands as they fidgeted. One memory was hard to remember. She had watched Flynn shoot him. Still fighting with her feelings of regret, betrayal, and love, she never wanted to see him hurt. As Flynn threw her to the ground, and took another shot at Nate, sending more men after him, Chloe found herself in tears. She remembered how Flynn just yelled at her, furious that she was upset. But she couldn't hold it together anymore. She laid against the wall, sobbing heavily, unable to stop until her energy ran out. And it did make Flynn angry. He was angry enough to threaten to let Lazarevic have her, kill her, rape her, whatever he wanted. "Because if you aren't mine, I'm not protecting you!" Chloe shuttered as she remembered his anger. She knew he was angry when she was found with him, but now it was out of control.

Chloe would admit too, she was not the emotional type. She was rational and all business. She wasn't one on any occasion to stop to cry, or admire, or to remember even. She prided herself on her work. For her to lose it, especially in front of Flynn, she felt weak and exposed for that moment. She was suddenly very vulnerable. This was not okay. And when she saw Nate was alive, she was sure to give him a good glare. No one had ever brought her to such a low point. She could admit that she'd done it to herself before, but never had someone else brought her to that low of a point in her career.

This whole trip had been a bit more emotional than she preferred. She knew how she felt however when Elena was too close to Flynn's grenade. She was livid to see Nate run to her aide and start his emotional collapse _. I'm sorry_ , she had thought _. Out of anyone ever in my life whom I've ever trusted so much… And you seem to have forgotten me?_ Of course, who was he to know that he brought her to tears, to be sworn at and yelled at by the same guy that blew up his ex-girlfriend. Wait! Wasn't that enough? A current girlfriend to an ex-girlfriend? Shouldn't she be his current concern? However, there was less time to fight with Nate, as Elena laid groaning in his arms. That's when Chloe had to put her own personal feelings aside and she knew she needed to help. This was the woman was a friend of Nate's. So, she felt inclined to help. And as she carried Elena's bleeding body around, she fought against leaving her. But it wasn't like her. As much as Chloe didn't like playing "hero," she wasn't a "bad guy" either. And she wasn't going to hurt Nate more than he already was.

By that point, Chloe was actually feeling friendly towards Elena. They made small talk, trusted each other, but Chloe realized how much control Elena had over him once they had escaped the Yeti monsters and Lazarevic. They were friends by… proxy per say. They were just working towards the same goal of getting out alive. So, when Elena told Nathan to go after Lazarevic and his men, and Nate agreed, Chloe wanted to explode. She wanted to jump up and down, scream, throw anything, and everything, at Nate. She wanted to ball up her fist and hit the bastard. Did he not realize that if he had followed her plan to begin with, none of this would have ever happened? If he would have just listened to her… Chloe actually laughed as she thought, _that's Nathan though. He's never doing what anyone wants…_

Now she was at a village, in the high Himalayan mountains, wondering what to do next. She couldn't stay with Nathan. He was still true to her, and he'd always be there for her, she knew this to be true. But it wasn't meant to be. She wiped a tear that ran down her face and curled a strand of hair behind her ear. He loved Elena, and that was something that Chloe was going to have to accept. She couldn't make Nathan love her. And as much as he tried to keep her the last time they were together, he left her. So, in a way, this evened them up. She smirked. If they ever got back together, maybe it would work. They'd be starting at zero again.

She rubbed her chin as she thought and stood up from the wall. The last few days had been a struggle for her new friend, Elena. Chloe, being a woman, was always in there changing her bandages and making sure she stayed hydrated. She heard her call his name, and he asked about her often. It was clear as day they were meant for each other. Yet, she continued to do what was best and care for Elena.

She watched as Nathan carried her to the bath, helped her, and dressed her. She watched as he fixed her food and tea. Though she was doing it also, it pained her more to see Nathan go out of his way for her. It was a week of emotions. He came over to her one day, holding her hand as they walked, but she could tell he was very distracted and bothered too. Maybe he was feeling the same confusion she was. No, he was. He certainly was. Chloe nodded as she laughed softly to herself. As blunt as Nathan was emotionally, he'd never forget Elena.

Chloe started walking towards the lodging area. She could see Nathan walking with Sullivan up the hill towards the village. She stopped to watch him from that distance. Nate told her, "Sully will take Elena home." But as Chloe watched his steps, fast and determined, she felt a little of her heart die. He wasn't walking so strongly for her. All the fighting, all the doubts in Chloe's head… They were gone. She knew right there when she met Elena that it was over. She'd lost him. And now, watching him hike to her cabin, Chloe smiled. She had to accept it.

I think Chloe is often overlooked at this time. I hope that you all are enjoying. Please let me know what you think!

Pokydog49


	4. Chapter 4

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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate then looked at his friend./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Why aren't you sleeping?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate looked confused, not because he didn't think he wasn't sleeping well, but more to the fact that how did Sullivan know?/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Having bad dreams?" Sully put his book down and turned to look at Nate squarely. "What's going on?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate sighed and looked back at Elena going into the bathroom. "Just nightmares. I'll get over them." Sully grumped as a response, earning a raised eyebrow from Nate. "What," he asked, with more attitude than it should./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Look, Kid, I've been doing this for a hell of a long time."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Oh," Nate rolled his eyes. "Here we go…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Now listen to me," Sully growled. "Shit happens, and no one likes it when it does."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "So what," Nate snapped back, interrupting Sully. "I'm just supposed to get over it?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Sully glared at his younger companion. "No," he said easily. "You're supposed to deal with it. Stop lying to yourself. Stop lying to the people that care about you."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate lowered his head and fiddled a little with his hands. "I almost lost her…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Sully nodded. They sat quietly, Nate still not making eye contact with Sully. Sullivan watched Nate. He could tell he was thinking of something, but it was Nate that was going to want to have to talk about it. Sully knew he couldn't force Nate to talk./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "You two have some serious atmosphere," joked Elena as she stepped slowly forward. "Do you know if they have food on this train?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate chuckled. "Yeah," he said light-heartedly. "Come-on," he motioned as he stood up. "There's a dining car down this way." He patted Sully as he turned into the aisle. "Thanks. See you in a bit."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Sully nodded, reopening his book, and let the two go down to the snack car./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate lead Elena down two more cars before arriving at a small dining area. There was an upper deck with some window seating, a drink section, and some deli food and snacks. He stood quietly, watching Elena look at all the options and debate what she wanted./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Anything for you, Sir?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate looked up and nodded. "Yeah, a lager and can I have one of those candy cars?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" The lady behind the counter nodded and retrieved his items as Elena made her choices. Apparently, she was hungrier as she got a bowl of soup and a hot cocoa. They declined to go upstairs, but sat at a table and looked out the window./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "So," Elena said with a smirk as she blew on her soup. "What was so gloomy with Sully?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate shrugged and continued looking out the window. He was still thinking about it./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Oh, come-on," Elena laughed lightly./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate smirked. "Nothing," he lied. "He's just giving me a hard time…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena raised her eyebrow as she took a spoonful of her soup. "About what? Not sleeping?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate looked at her surprised. Did everyone know?/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Nate," she said softly, putting her hand on his on the table. "It's okay to talk about it."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" He nodded./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "You'd want me to talk about it right?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" He nodded again./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" She patted his hand and took another bite. "This soup is better than I thought it was going to be," she admitted as she offered him a spoonful./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate looked at her funny before accepting it and nodding in agreement. "It's good, yeah?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena grinned and looked out the window. "There's so much that I have to think about and get over. And there's even more that I must adjust to, even if it's in the interim." She sipped her cocoa./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate bit his lip as he watched her. She was so beautiful. Maybe it was the light. Maybe it was how long they'd been apart. But she was. Her golden hair was pulled up in her traditional style, and her eyes seemed soft. Her skin was pale, light scarring developing, but he felt his heart skip a few beats as he looked at her. And the sun was shining right through their small window and onto her face, brightening her brown eyes, making them glitter in the light. She still had some bandages on underneath, but she was healing outside better. He heard himself laugh in his head as he thought how her nickname from Chloe was right on… Sunshine. She radiated in it./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "I'm nervous." Elena turned to make eye contact with Nathan. "I've got to call my boss…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate grimaced. At least he didn't have to do that./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "It's like Panama all over again. Even if I tell him the truth, I don't think he's going to believe me." /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate chuckled. "You will make something up."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Oh no," she pointed her finger at him. "You're the one who's good at coming up with stories."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate shot her a friendly but sarcastic look, challenging her to continue. "Fine," he snorted. "I'll come up with a story for you."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena laughed. She sipped the last of her soup out of the bowl before looking up at Nate with a crooked smile. She looked around before leaning in as if telling him a secret. Nate leaned in, even though his wound ached when he did. "I'm not sleeping well either…" She whispered./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate let out a breath./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "But I do sleep better when you're nearby…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" That made him smile. He didn't feel completely useless then. He watched as she stood up and limped her way back to her seat. He watched her, even tilting his head as she walked away. Nothing could have slapped that smirk off his face. Though he had other thoughts, mostly those that were going to have to wait to act upon, he knew both his friends were correct. He scratched his cheek as he drank his beer. "Well," he said softly to his beer. "At least you're not asking me how I'm sleeping…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"What do you all think about it so far? Let me know! /p 


	5. Chapter 5

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" The train stopped in some medium-sized town. The name truly escaped Elena's mind. But this was the place they'd stay before catching a flight home. Elena was tired, exhausted, and so very sore. She was ready to collapse in bed, oh a real bed. They arrived at a decent hotel. It was nicer, closest to the train station. Nate and Sullivan took the bags and led her inside. She looked around, seeing the architecture. It wasn't a surprise when Sully paid for the rooms, but it was a surprise when the hotel said there were only two rooms left./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Sully looked at Nate, eyebrow raised, and a half skeptical look. "I'm guessing you two wanted to share a room?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena looked from the painting of Everest at Nate. In fact, they had planned on sharing a room. There was one thing they both were thinking about as they closed into the hotel's property. If there was one thing they both remembered from before, it was survival sex. It was a memory that builds the anticipation of the two being alone again. So, of course, they had no problem sharing a room./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "We have a basic room, here on the first floor left." The lady said as she looked at her paper. "But we also have the Bridal Suite."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Sully chuckled. "Don't ever say I never gave you anything," he said as he looked at Nathan. "We'll take them."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Bridal suite, huh," Elena snickered. "What a fitting room considering…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate looked at her as he put the key into the keyhole. "Considering what?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "We're together again… for the first time…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate blinked./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena laughed. "Never mind…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" But as soon as the door shut, Nate grinned at her, and she smirked at his response. She wanted it. She truly did. So when Nate picked her up, her heart fluttered, and their lips met in a passionate war of dominance. She moaned as he held her, his hands on her thighs, and his breath on her neck. She felt herself grow wet in anticipation. She knew what she wanted. And sex with Nathan Drake was never a letdown. Unfortunately, as Nate dropped her on the bed, a little too roughly, Elena gasped out in pain./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Ow, ow, ow," she whined as she held her side./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate stopped and looked at her with deep concern. "I'm sorry," she instantly regretted. "Are you okay?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena nodded, frowning as she looked at her self. "Don't stop," she encouraged. She reached up, even though that was a decent about of discomfort, and grabbed at his shirt, pulling him on top of her. "I'll be fine," she lied in her breath upon his lips. She felt Nate's hesitance, but he kissed her again. He pressed her, more gently this time, on the bed as his hands landed on the sides of her head. She felt him press himself, hard and excited, against her own pelvis. It drove her even more mad. She grasped at his shirt, grabbing it desperately in her fists, and moaned in pleasure./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "We have too much clothing on," Nate growled at her, showing his own excitement./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena grinned. She tried to pull her own shirt off, but ended up whining in pain. As she squeezed her eyes shut and stopped in the tracks, she felt Nate's hands softly on her sides. There was still some gauze pads on her body, and it felt odd as his hands glided up her sides over them. It was almost too distracting. Nate gently, ever so softly, took her shirt and helped it off her, tracing kisses behind the shirt as it came off. Her head instantly fell back in pleasure and she gasped./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate smirked as he kissed at her neck and removed his own shirt. In a short few moments, mostly dues to Nate's tender touches and assistance, Nate balanced his naked body over the bare Elena. For that moment, it felt right, again. He had missed her. He could never admit it while they were apart, but not that they were together, raw and alone, he could tell her how he missed her./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" She melted under his touch, moaned in their kisses, and craved the intimacy that hovered over her. Her hands ran up his chest, her fingers lightly floating down his back, and settling on his sides. Nate's own hands were careful as they made their own journey to her groin. He groaned loudly with the discovery of her being so moist. Elena gasped loudly as his fingers slipped into her. She couldn't help it. Her eyes looked down at his head as he kissed her chest, making sure to take up both her nipples in his mouth. This hurt, however, and more "ow, ow, ow," escaped sharply./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate was quick to stop as he sat up. She could see, again, the great concern for her. He wanted this to be perfect. Nate was holding back his feeling, his wants, desires, and dreams. And he hoped in his own mind that if he regained that intimacy with Elena, that his own soul would calm, and his terrifying nightmares might cease. He wanted to make sure she was in his arms, and no longer in any harm's way. This also meant that he never wanted to cause her any more pain than that he felt responsible for./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Never mind," Elena quickly waived off as she reached for him. She felt restrained by her own body. She pulled Nate back on top of her, her hands on his hips, as she encouraged him with moans and groans, to enter her. She sees him second-guess himself, but it's hard not to comply. It wasn't until he thrusted into her that they both cried out. His side erupted in pain, as he was still healing himself. And the movement against her sparked every wound of hers to flash in deep pain outward. Her hip, side, and chest pulsed in a radiating pain. They parted quickly. Elena held herself. She cried out, feeling robbed of a pleasure she desired so deeply. This broken body could not even allow herself a moment of pleasure. Nate growled and punched the pillow next to him./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "I'm sorry," she cried./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate shook his head. His erection was gone as soon as the pain started. He too felt robbed, but he also felt useless to an extent. "It's okay," he tried to comfort her in return. "It's okay." Inside he felt like exploding though. It wasn't okay./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena laid back as Nate got up and went to give her some medicine to ease her now inflamed pain. She did have plans to visit a doctor as soon as she was stateside, but until then, she was to drink that strong tea and it'd help her pain as much as it could. What he did have was some ibuprofen and he grabbed the two pills that he had to give her. He'd go without for the moment. As he got some water and turned around, he noticed the jacuzzi in the corner of the room. They'd mostly overlooked it at the time of arrival into the room. It was a large room, and the jacuzzi seemed to be easily overlooked./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "I have an idea," he said as he handed her two pills. "Take these." Then Elena watched as he began to fill the tub. She watched as he was careful on the temperature as he filled it. Then he turned back to her. "Join me?" He was a sight to behold, for sure, and Elena had to stop and take it in. But as her eyes drifted, they landed on a red spot, a large round scar, on his side above his hip./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate looked down and saw his own scar. They both had survived, and it felt as if now they were coming to terms with their own bodies. Elena was. She had been waking up. She wasn't going to let some scars get her down, and she wasn't going to let her current condition get in her own way either. But seeing Nate scar…/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate must have noticed the sober of the room because he put his hand over the red spot and walked up to her. "It's okay," he whispered to her./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena looked down at her own body./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Hey," Nate reached out to her. "We're okay… It's like when you get a scar from falling off a bike."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena snorted as she tilted her head in speculation. "Are you saying that I'll just get used to getting blown up?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate sighed. "No," he smiled softly./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Or getting used to getting shot at like you."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate grumped and looked disappointed. "I don't like getting shot at," he reassured. "And I don't plan on getting shot again. It hurt."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Getting blown up hurt too," Elena confirmed./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "I mean," Nate put his hand on hers as she sat on the edge of the bed. "It's just a scar. It's… It's… a part of your story."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena sighed. That had to be the most right thing that Nathan ever said. She smiled and got up from the bed. Maybe a bath would help her feel better. They sat carefully in the tub after removing her bandages. The warm water was not only soothing, but being with him in the tub was comforting. They sat across from each other, leaning back, letting the hot water warm them. The jets were turned on low, and they sat, completely satisfied in their positions. Elena could feel the tension in her sore muscles, her rebuilding muscles, loosen and dissipate. But she was not done trying to have that intimate feeling with Nate yet, and after a few minutes, she ran her foot up the inside of Nate's leg./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate had sat back, leaned his head back, and had closed his eyes. He actually enjoyed baths after some adventures. He was dirty, and sore himself. Though he did feel guilty about not being able to please and enjoy Elena, he figured they'd try maybe tomorrow morning. It bothered him more that even though he was healing faster, he was still limited by his own body. He had to remind himself that he was also healing and that he couldn't afford to hurt himself. Then he felt Elena's foot slide up his leg. He simply opened an eye with his boyish smirk. With the water making them lighter, maybe sex in the tub wouldn't be so bad./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena raised her eyebrows, hitting at her seductive motives. She slid over to him, her hands starting from his knees and working slowly inward. Nate reached out, feeling her sides with the tips of his fingers. To Elena, it felt amazing. Maybe it was just this experience, but he always knew how to touch her. She slid her body on top of Nate's lap, looking deeply into his blue eyes. She rubbed herself against him, feeling the desired result almost instantly. Her hands reached back, finding his hair, and running her fingers up the back of his neck to his scalp. "Oh," he moaned out./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She felt his hands grab at her hips as he groaned. It made her want him even more desperately. But as she lowered herself onto him, earning a full gasp and moan from him, she felt her own body object to the actions again. span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"No/span, she argued with herselfspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;", it will get better/span… She pivoted her hips, feeling a sharp pain shoot through her side up to her breast. "Ah!" She cried out. "Fuck!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Nate growled, holding her hips still before tapping at her, "You gotta get off," he whined./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" They both just collapsed back into the water, feeling defeated. "It's not fair," she whined./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate didn't think so either. "I know," he sympathized. "We can try again later, okay?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena knew he was right… it's just not what she wanted. But when Nate waved her back over, he held her in his lap as the water bubbled around them. That was better. It felt better. It was supposed to relax them, comfort them, and cleanse their troubles from their minds. By, God, Elena wasn't going to waste it./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" The next morning, waking in his arms, was a perfect way to start the day. Unfortunately, they woke entirely too late. It wasn't even too long before Sully was at their door, banging on it to get them going. And though they still had a long way to go, Elena knew she had a laundry list of things to do before getting back to a "normal" life./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena's first actions were to call her Editor in Chief. She had a story to tell. Jeff was dead, and they needed to know. Her lack of contact actually had her boss's concern and she was surprised to hear his concern to get her home. She couldn't explain Shambala but instead said that her efforts found her and Jeff in the middle of a war, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was lucky to escape, and thankful to a "stranger" who saved her. She told him how she survived the grenade and was dragged out of the war zone. She could tell his concern for her. He told her that they'd do the best by her and to go to the hospital as soon as she was stateside. They wanted to ensure her health. Elena could honestly say she was surprised, but already had plans to visit a doctor when she got home./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "I will still try to work," she reassured her boss./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Elena," her editor argued. "Rest. When you can, come in. But please don't work yourself too hard."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena frowned. Had Nate talked to her boss? It didn't matter, some time to heal would be good./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p 


	6. Chapter 6

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" The airport wasn't as busy as they thought it was going to be. Sullivan came back with their tickets, made sure they were okay and told Nate to call him. Then they were on their way home. Honestly, it was a bit surreal feeling for Elena. Not only did she feel she was battling an emotional warhead in her mind, but now she was going to be taking on culture shock. Coming from such a war scene and such violence, normality for her was going to be a journey on its own. She felt like she was on a different planet just sitting in the cab on the way from the airport to her apartment, but she also felt an overwhelming sense of relief and relaxation. She was after all, home, where she was most comfortable. She didn't feel comfortable. She was on edge, feeling as if there was something she was missing./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" She looked over at Nate who sat next to her. He was looking out the window before turning to look at her. "I don't like it here," he muttered. "Too many people."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Considering the people, you hang out with, I can understand why you don't like people." She giggled at her own comment and looked back out the window./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "I had one friend, one, that tried to kill us, and now you are going to accuse all my friends of being murderers?" He snorted, though he knew it was all in good fun. In fact, the humor was good for them. What was happening was rather… fast. Memories of their last engagements, and of the last few nights, battled in their heads./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" She continued to snicker. The feeling of security was coming back to her, slowly. This was her safehouse. She was home. And as hard as it was going to be recovering for shell shock, literally, she'd rather be recovering in a place of familiarity than in some mountain village. She watched as they turned down into her neighborhood and she smiled. She'd lived here for a long time, but she felt like she was never home. She always wanted to be other places. And it wasn't that her apartment wasn't a place that she enjoyed, it wasn't a place she felt like she was supposed to reside for long periods of time. After another glance at Nate and she wondered if he ever spent enough time at home to make rent worth it. She knew he had his own apartment. But he barely even ever spoke of it. She could tell he was on edge, and that was fair. The last time he had spent any time at her apartment was their break up. Of course, he wouldn't feel naturally comfortable. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" She wasn't sure what to once she was home. She just stood by the front door and stared at her apartment. It'd been quite some time since she'd been there. But it was her last memories in the apartment were of her and Jeff, not her and Nate. So, as she stared at her empty and dusty apartment, she felt a sense of loneliness. Nate kicked his shoes off, a habit he remembered she insisted on and waited for her to go ahead of him. She could feel his stare, waiting, curious to her hesitation. He looked around, then back at her. "Are you okay? What is it?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena looked up at him with tears forming. "This is my life isn't it?" She felt a certain dread, a fear that shew as just going to go and fail at her special and insisted projects, to return to the same simple apartment in the city. She wasn't destined for grand adventures like Nate, nor was she destined to ever find peace other than here. She wasn't going to go anywhere, but that apartment in the end. The pressure swelled in her chest at the thought./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate frowned his brows and tilted his head in understanding what she was saying. "What do you mean?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "I'm not fit to be a good foreign correspondent…" How was she? She was an amazing TV show host but completely fucked that up by buying Nate's story. Though that experience was not completely regretted, she didn't feel like she could be good at anything else. If she was a good foreign correspondent, she wouldn't have gotten Jeff killed. She would have found Lazarevic and reported it without getting caught. She wouldn't be home, at this apartment, but in the field reporting world events./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate wasn't sure how to respond so he bit his lip and looked sadly at her./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Maybe everything that I've worked for is not what I'm supposed to be." She sniffed as a tear fell down her cheek. "I keep trying to find excuses to be better than this apartment, but I keep finding myself here."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate looked around. "At least you're not jobless this time…" He snickered trying to lighten the mood but didn't see a snicker from Elena. "I thought you loved this apartment?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena wiped the tear from her cheek and shrugged. "I do… But this isn't the apartment I've dreamed of…" She had ambitions, dreams of success./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate nodded and took the first steps into the apartment. "Well, I can go to the store and get some food if you make me a list…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena reached out to stop him, "I'll go with you."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Elena…"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Let's go tomorrow morning. I promise to rest today and tomorrow morning we can go get some groceries." She smiled weakly and Nate nodded. Suddenly, Elena started crying in full. Her shoulders fell, her face dropped, and she let out a sob./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate was quick to gather her up in a hug and held her. He hushed her softly as she just let the tears out, getting soaked up in his Henley. She muttered and sobbed things into his chest, but he held her tighter, kissing her temple in an effort to comfort her. She could feel his hands around her, rubbing her back and shoulders. She could smell him. He hadn't showered in two days with their travels, but she felt his smell was a comfort. Her hands found the back of his shirt as she hugged him in return. Her fists tightened about his shirt as she let out a few harder sobs, sniffling in-between./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" She didn't know how long they stood, there, but she tired quickly and pulled away from Nate and tried to wipe her face with her sleeve. "I can't stop thinking about how he won't come home," she coughed out./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate nodded. "It's okay," he tried to reassure, but Elena shook her head. She patted his chest and tried to smile up at him. Then she moved past him and into her bedroom. Everything had a good layer of dust on it, including her made bed. This didn't stop her. She simply slipped into the bed and continued to cry. She had held back mostly while she was with Nate, but now that she was in a more safe environment, her emotions flooded the dams that held them at bay. And she didn't feel it was fair to Nathan to talk to him about Jeff. She didn't want him to get jealous and start a fight. So, she felt it was better to grieve on her own. As she cuddled against her pillow, she felt the bed sink behind her and a hand land on her hip. He didn't say anything. He simply laid down behind her, pulling her towards him. Slowly his arms made their way around her. She took a deep breath and sighed as she tried to relax. But she didn't even know that she was already asleep./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate held her, holding her closely, like he would a teddy bear to comfort his own fears. From this point back, he had held her to comfort himself. Elena was still trying to feel independent and strong, though he knew how broken her body was, after all, he helped put it back together. His own fears of losing her could be calmed if he knew, could feel, touch, smell, and see her. He hoped that now he could wrap his limbs around her, he too could sleep, with the idea that at least half his demons being calmed. He couldn't cry though. He had to stay strong. And he didn't have the loss that she carried./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" They woke hours later, the sun setting. Well, Nathan woke, but Elena kept sleeping. He felt hungry. He looked down at the snoozing blonde hair in his arms and then glanced at the door. He was sure she was going to be hungry soon too. He debated for a minute or two before deciding that he'd go out and get something to eat. He'd bring some take out back for her. He just hoped that he could get back before she woke up. He gently rolled Elena, doing his best to not wake her. As he walked out of the bedroom, he walked to her side, kissing her forehead, and letting his hand sit on her side a bit longer. Then he put on his shoes and went over places to bring food from in his head which were nearby./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" When Elena woke, it was darker outside. She was alone and she looked around almost confused. Wasn't Nate nearby? She sat up, whining in pain, and looked around. "Nate?" She limped out, holding her hip and she groaned at the pain and peered mysteriously into the living room and kitchen area. No one. She checked the counters for a note, but there wasn't one. This left her unsatisfied. She was sure Nathan just wouldn't just leave her. span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He's probably out getting food/span, she told herself. span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Where would he go if he wasn't? /spanEven with her reasonings, she began to worry. She looked out the windows hoping to see him, but she couldn't. She bit her lip, unknowing what to do next. She sat down on a bar stool and looked at the door. span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"This isn't like you, Elena,/span she thought to herself. span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You're not going to die if he doesn't return. You can live on your own/span. This thought was a firm determination, but it scared her at the moment./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" As she brought her mind back to order, the door opened with Nathan holding a pizza box. Elena grinned, jumping up to attempt to tackle him in happiness. Nate moved the pizza box so she didn't hit it, and "umphed" as she half crashed into him. He wrapped his free arm around her with a chuckle. "This is a good greeting," he laughed. "Are you okay?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Elena nodded as she stood up and reached for the box. "I'm great. I was hoping for pizza," she smiled, trying to hide her own doubts./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate grinned and slipped off his shoes. He watched as she opened it up and grabbed a piece. He grabbed his own slice, but also the box and headed for her bedroom./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" "Hey!" She called as he slunk away. "Come back."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" Nate laughed, "No way!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" They found themselves where they could have been years ago. They cuddled next to each other, watching TV, with a pizza to share in their laps. And in a way, it helped Elena. She wasn't in a cold, wet, ruined city. She was in her bed, safe and sound, laughing and eating pizza. It was almost as if she was dreaming a good dream for once. It was somewhere she could recover and feel at home. It was that moment, that she felt peace and fulfillment. And Nathan could agree with that wholeheartedly./p 


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